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CR PASSES...NOW ON TO BUDGET: The Senate passed its version of the CR on Wednesday, setting up talks with the House ahead of the March 27 deadline and a planned recess starting next week. The Senate’s CR includes DOT money for six months and mostly funds MAP-21. The House measure had drawn sharp opposition from road, transit and safety groups for its cuts. Senators now move on to work on Patty Murray’s budget that includes major increases in transpo spending.

About the budget... Over in the lower chamber, members take a final vote on Paul Ryan’s budget resolution today. Several alternatives that would have boosted infrastructure spending were defeated Wednesday afternoon. A4A blasted out a statement opposing the budget and its language that would double a tax that funds the TSA, saying such a move would cost passengers $730 million each year.

NO ATC TOWERS VOTE — Obama administration opposed: Jerry Moran’s quest to get a vote on deferring contracted air traffic control towers until the fall came to its unsuccessful conclusion on Wednesday. Moran tried to get some support from an old House friend, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, to temporarily stifle sequester cuts to 173 such towers. No dice, he was told by LaHood: “I can't help you because the administration opposes the [amendment].” The reason, LaHood said, is it was a short-term fix, although some in the Senate believe the administration is trying to make the sequester’s effects as painful as possible. Harry Reid told MT it was not so nefarious. “Senators wouldn't agree,” he said. Burgess, Scott and Kathryn: http://politico.pro/XqpiE3

Scooplet — FAA travel squashed: An FAA source passes along that “following a strongly worded letter from Congress” FAA employees have been told to “cancel all conferences for the rest of the year.” The source estimated that might bring the furlough days for the rest of the fiscal year “from 11 to 10.”

Postponed: The series of floor votes on the CR forced the postponement of Commerce’s aviation hearing with the FAA and NTSB chiefs. No new date yet.

MORE DOT SPECULATION: Bloomberg reports the administration is considering Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx for transportation secretary. Foxx has been a big streetcar proponent — streetcars that were on display and covered by MT when the DNC visited Charlotte last year. With all the pressure the CBC has been putting on Obama to add some diversity to his Cabinet, the pick would make sense. MT asked around and nobody would comment, including the White House. CBC member Alcee Hastings said the first he heard of the rumor was when MT asked him about it, though he thinks Obama will end up nominating a black person to be secretary. “He’s got to,” Hastings told us. And home state Sen. Kay Hagan said she couldn’t say whether there was anything to the report (Her exact words: “Nope. No, no no”) but said she “would look forward to seeing him in the administration.” Foxx’s office gave MT what we would describe as a firm “no comment” and Foxx gave the same to the Charlotte Observer, which noted he hasn’t announced reelection plans yet. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/13cthvP Observer: http://bit.ly/Zym0kJ

WRDA SAILS THROUGH EPW: The Senate EPW Committee made barely a ripple Wednesday as it unanimously approved a sprawling WRDA bill with a still-unknown price tag, drawing only mild critiques. The bill was so noncontroversial that it was approved just 15 minutes into a markup. Majority Leader Harry Reid has estimated privately to Senate Democrats that the nearly 300-page bill will be ready for floor action in April or May, and Boxer said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is interested as well. Burgess has more for Pros: http://politico.pro/WIuJ5c

Stinky streamlining: EPW may have approved of the bill, but environmental groups don’t like the “streamlining” language. NRDC’s Deron Lovaas (http://bit.ly/ZLpfEq) called the targeting of reviews — with penalties if there’s too much delay — a “rotten joke.” The National Wildlife Foundation’s CEO Larry Schweiger said the provisions are “a misguided attempt to move outdated projects more quickly.” They aren’t alone. “I understand what they’re trying to do,” said Maryland’s Ben Cardin of Vitter and Boxer’s attempt to mimic the expediency language from the surface bill. “I worry about unintended consequences, particularly on forcing an agency to make a premature decision.” So was there an agreement to alleviate your concerns? “They feel that the provisions are adequate, but they certainly are willing to listen to what I have to say.” Cardin was given a long staff briefing during the markup in the corner of the hearing room.

Bishop happy with process: MT checked with Tim Bishop, the top Democrat on T&I’s water resources panel, to see how WRDA is progressing in the lower chamber. “I think we’re nowhere near — obviously — as far along as the Senate is, but there are discussions going on and it’s bipartisan so far,” Bishop told MT. “What I’m happy with thus far is the process, and the process is one where there is bipartisan involvement.” Bishop also said he hadn’t heard any timelines from leaders about when a bill could be released and wouldn’t hazard a guess of his own. But so far, the cooperation is a good sign for the bill.

** A message from the American Society of Civil Engineers: Have you heard? U.S. infrastructure needs $3.6 trillion in total investment by 2020, according to ASCE’s 2013Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, released this week. Download the free app and learn more at www.infrastructurereportcard.org. **

LaHood MAILBAG — Delay trucker HOS rule: Leaders of the House Transportation Committee and its Highways and Transit panel wrote LaHood asking him to delay a new hours-of-service rule for truckers that is slated to take effect July 1. The quartet asked LaHood to delay the rule until three months after a court case is resolved, which is expected in June. “We believe our request is a responsible solution to concerns from the motor carrier industry and law enforcement community,” the four lawmakers wrote. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently heard a case against the rule. Pros get the letter: http://politico.pro/WJkTzV

Nevadans 4 HSR: Jeff Sessions and Paul Ryan might dislike it, but the Nevada congressional delegation and now its state legislature are on the record supporting a $5.5 billion RRIF loan to the XPressWest project. The GOP and Dem leaders of both the Nevada House and Senate wrote a joint letter to LaHood this week to “urge approval of the loan to mark the first step in creating a regional high-speed rail network in the Southwest.” The letter for Pros: http://politico.pro/YYK8gd

HEADS UP — Transit and home values: APTA and NAR are out with a new study today looking at how proximity to transit helps home values — even if the overall market has been in decline. The key finding: “Across the study regions, the transit shed outperformed the region as a whole by 41.6 percent. In all of the regions the drop in average residential sales prices within the transit shed was smaller than in the region as a whole or the non-transit area.” Check it out: http://politico.pro/ZUDMfC

THE AUTOBAHN (SPEED READ)

- Air traffic control tower closures in Atlanta could be a problem for people travelling to the Final Four. Kathryn for Pros: http://politico.pro/10iIkjw

- One of President Obama’s limos in Israel was accidentally filled with diesel fuel, requiring the back-up. Guardian: http://bit.ly/15srVIR

THE COUNTDOWN: Sequestration has been in effect for 21 days and it’s been 51 days since Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced his departure. DOT funding runs out in seven days, passenger rail policy runs out in 194 days, surface transportation policy in 562 days and FAA policy in 924 days. The mid-term elections are in 593 days.

CABOOSE — Pre-flight dining: A diverted flight from Boston to Atlanta got a little pick-me-up as it sat on the runway — a cop car filled with pizza. “Yeah, it definitely put a smile on everyone's face when we saw them bring 30 pizzas on the plane," said one passenger. WRCB: http://bit.ly/WHf3zh

** A message from the American Society of Civil Engineers: Bridges: C+. Ports: C. Roads: D. These are just some of the sector grades released in the 2013Report Card for America’s Infrastructure (www.infrastructurereportcard.org). We simply cannot accept these grades as a nation: they hurt our economy and negatively impact our quality of life and public safety. What changed since the 2009 Report Card? No grades decreased, but 6 of the 16 sectors improved: roads, bridges, rail, solid waste, and drinking and wastewater systems. Why? The grades rose in sectors where public and private investment was made and innovative solutions pursued. Download the free app to learn more: www.infrastructurereportcard.org. **